I was very excited about my day out (note to self: must get out more!) and caught the 9.00 am train to get me into London at 10.15. I made my way to where the training day was being held without getting lost – which is a big deal, if you’re wondering.
I made my way straight to the hall where Adidas were doing the foot scans and selling the clothing! Already I could see a massive queue ahead of me and quickly joined the end. A big screen had been set up and the talks being held in the main hall were being piped through to us so we wouldn’t miss out on anything although I must admit to being distracted by the shoe scan paraphernalia – it was very techno! There was a tremendous bargain of 35% off one pair of shoes or 50% off two pairs – I’d already made up my mind to buy two pairs. I would, after all, be saving money in the long run!
My turn eventually came and it was over all too soon. I did a couple of jogs over the mat with each foot and was shown that I have a neutral gait but am very heavy on the heel, banging my heel down into the ground – must be due to my old marching days! I was advised which shoes suited me best and off I went to try them on. Two pairs of shoes, one pair of ¾ lengths and one pair shorts later I made my way through to the main hall to catch the end of that morning’s talks.
During lunch I went over to the Lucozade Sport stand and listened in on the interesting facts being given out by the girls, along with free bottles of the stuff. I also got a couple of wrist bands with the pace marked out on them for what time you want to do it in.
After making our way back to the main hall David Bedford made an entrance! Here he is, as you’ve never seen him before. 
He certainly lived up to his reputation of being “the most colourful character in world athletics”.
You may wonder why he was dressed like that? Well, apart from perhaps liking to wear frocks, he was trying to make the point about wearing suitable clothing! His talk was hilarious and one I was glad not to have missed.
Liz Yelling – one of Britain’s top distance athletes - and Sam Murphy – writer, runner and coach, gave us some training advice. Amongst many things Sam said to keep your head up when running and not look down, as the head weighs something like 7 lbs (can’t remember exactly) and is a big strain on the neck and back. This was something that I put into practice tonight on my run!
They finished their talk with a bit of visualisation….. we closed our eyes and as she went through the landmarks of the London Marathon we were to visualise ourselves running and then finally crossing over the finishing line. It felt really good and brought a little tear to my eye – goodness knows what I shall be like on the day.
Well done to the London Marathon Team!And then, to finish off a great day, Hubby came to meet me and we went to Masala Zone for a meal - highly recommended!
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